Vitamin and mineral supplements for human and veterinary use are commonplace. Recently, it has become recognized that certain groups of the human population may require quite high intakes of minerals, such as calcium, to prevent or alleviate certain disease states, for example, osteoporotic conditions. The medical management of certain anemias can be handled rather well by increasing the daily intake of iron. Some diets, or heavy physical exercise, may require the intake of considerable quantities of minerals apart from those generally obtained through what otherwise would be considered a balanced diet.
Vitamin supplementation is also important, primarily for those who have inadequate diets, including growing children. In Central and South American countries where the dietary intake of minerals and vitamins are low in the general population, such a nutritional supplement would have great value.
Commercially available mineral supplements, are useful in many circumstances where enhanced mineral uptake is desirable. However, adhering to a regimen which requires separate intake of vitamin and mineral supplements can give suboptimal results, simply because the regimen requires a change in the normal habits and practices of the user. It would be more convenient if the vitamins and minerals could be administered conjointly in a convenient form which would not require extra attention, planning and implementation by the user.
In addition, some materials interfere with the absorption of iron and calcium. The administration of calcium, iron and vitamins in a format which enhances absorption of the calcium and iron is highly desirable.
There are well-recognized problems associated with adding both vitamins and mineral supplements to foods and beverages. For example, many calcium supplements tend to be rather insoluble, and, therefore, not very useful in beverages, or tend to have a "chalky" taste or mouth feel. Iron supplements tend to discolor foodstuffs, or to be organoleptically unsuitable. Moreover, it is particularly difficult to formulate foods and, especially, beverages, containing mixtures of iron supplements and calcium supplements, inasmuch as these minerals tend to interact. This interaction not only affects the organoleptic and aesthetic properties of the foods and beverages, but also undesirably affects the nutritional bioavailability of these minerals, themselves.
Vitamins tend to decompose over time in beverages. It is well known that orange juice and other citrus beverages lose their vitamin C content over time. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) acts as an anti-oxidant and therefore is itself reduced or changed when added to beverages. Vitamin A and its precursor, .beta.-carotene, and riboflavin are also subject to degradation over time.
It would be desirable, therefore, to have vitamin C, vitamin A or .beta.-carotene and riboflavin present with iron and calcium supplements wherein bioavailability of both minerals and of the vitamins is optimized. It would also be useful to have such supplements which can be used in food and beverage compositions without undesirably affecting organoleptic or aesthetic properties.
It is an object of the present invention to provide mixed vitamin and iron-calcium mineral supplements which fulfill these unmet needs.
It is a further object of this invention to provide beverages and beverage concentrates which are supplemented with vitamin C, .beta.-carotene, riboflavin, iron and calcium and which are stable on storage.
It is a further object herein to provide means for enhancing biological uptake of iron and calcium minerals, especially from fruit flavored beverages, including citrus beverages in compositions which are both palatable and stable by the addition of these vitamins.
These and other objects are secured herein, as will be seen from the following disclosure.